In the 40th year of Haojing (1683), the entire northern line of the railway was finally completed, which meant that the mainland of the Ming Dynasty and the Northland, especially the area west of the Ural Mountains, would be closely connected.
The first group of soldiers and their families who returned from the Western Expedition in triumph set off from Moscow in early July of the same year, including the time spent replenishing food, fresh water, coal, and overhauling vehicles along the way.
The total time spent was only twenty-two days, which was much less time and effort than chasing the Rakshasa soldiers from east to west and fighting them all the way.
At Beidu North Station, when they saw their son who had not returned home for more than ten years, the relatives were of course overjoyed and even shed tears. As long as they could come back unscathed, it would be a great thing.
Those who came back with urns in their hands could only make their family members shed tears, and some even broke down in tears, sitting on the ground and wailing.
The death notice has been issued, and a pension of one thousand silver coins has also been issued. The family members only need to go to the train station to receive their own small box.
People cannot be resurrected after death, but the descendants of soldiers can enjoy priority in enlisting in the army. If they are smart, they can also get extra points in the military academy examination.
The corresponding treatment for military dependents will not change at all within thirty years, ensuring that their children can enjoy it until they are thirty.
The vast majority of people can come back alive from the Northland, because the king's division is all heavily protected, even the prairie cavalry are equipped in this way.
In general, the most serious injury to the leg would force amputation, and the patient would be on crutches for the rest of his life. For a soldier, it would be lucky to be able to save his life.
The first group of people who came back by train were mainly injured or those who had recovered from moderate to severe injuries. Those who were alive and kicking could wait a few more months. Anyway, all the soldiers of the Western Expedition to Rakshasa would return to their homeland to rest.
Even if you want to stay there and live there in the future, you must obtain Wanli's consent in advance and then report it to the Ministry of War before it can be approved.
People who stay in Moscow and other places are basically carefree or have a bad relationship with their families. They have nothing to worry about in their home country and can concentrate on starting a new life.
Emperor Haojing expressed his understanding of this, and the military ministers had no other opinions.
If you are dumped by your sweetheart, wouldn't you be humiliating yourself if you come back?
When the time comes, it will be impossible not to understand others, so why not just be accommodating people.
Let some soldiers who have fought bloody battles settle down in the west and live a happy life with Yangma.
Those who survive, as long as they can still drink, will never refuse invitations to banquets from comrades-in-arms, fellow villagers, relatives and friends.
The man who has been on the Western Expedition the longest has not returned to his homeland for almost seventeen years, and has turned from a handsome young man into a middle-aged man.
The restaurants, restaurants and various clubs in Beidu can naturally take advantage of this opportunity to make a lot of money.
Not only in the past few days, every time the train comes back, it means bringing a busload of customers to the bosses of these places...
Why do ordinary people live?
Isn’t it just to eat comfortably, live comfortably, and play comfortably?
Excluding the cost of playing with the local Ocean Horse, an ordinary soldier can save a silver coin in at least two months.
It doesn't seem like much, but if you save six coins in a year, you will get sixty coins in ten years. That's a heavy bag of money.
If you farm in the local area and the harvest is good, even if you harvest potatoes from ten acres of land, you can get the above reward.
Not only can you not go hungry, but even if you earn one silver coin from one acre of land, you can earn ten silver coins from ten acres of land.
Zhang Huangyan used this method to encourage his men to farm more, thus achieving the small goal of self-sufficiency for the Western Expedition troops.
There is nothing wrong with doing this, because the mainland is too far away from Moscow and supplies are too difficult.
Even if you want to purchase food from France, you have to go through the Baltic Sea, disembark from Polo Castle, and then walk thousands of miles in the direction of Moscow to reach Moscow.
Wanli, who was already over seventy years old, came back first and reported to his respected master many important things that had happened during the Western Expedition over the years. It would not be too late to talk about the small things later.
Wan Li and Zhang Huangyan originally wanted Zeng Ying, the youngest, to go back first, but the latter, citing his health as an excuse, followed Zhang Huangyan and persuaded Wan Li to come back first.
Yang Zhan also joined the small group of persuaders. Wanli couldn't win over the three of them, so he reluctantly agreed.
Speaking of which, Wanli was only less than twenty years older than Emperor Haojing, but now the master and apprentice sat together like grandfather and grandson.
A seventy-year-old grandfather and a thirty-year-old grandson, this is a true portrayal of the present.
After Wan Li saw his master's face, he seemed to feel that his master was younger than when he went to war.
"Some people say that you made a lot of money during the Western Expedition, and you won't care about it as a teacher. In this Western Expedition, King Wang's record is brilliant, and you also commanded well, and you will not receive any monetary rewards as a teacher. Once you take the medicine, it will be considered as a reward.”
Talking about money between master and disciple hurts the feelings so much!
Emperor Haojing directly replaced the reward with a fairy medicine. This thing contained good things that even a million silver coins could not buy.
It is impossible for outsiders to buy it, because Emperor Haojing made it himself.
Take one tube once a day, and it is best to take it as soon as possible to achieve the best effect.
"Thank you so much, my dear master, for the reward!"
Outside, Wanli must address you as Your Majesty, but in private, you can address yourself as Honored Master.
Now even if it is poison, Wanli can only drink it bravely.
After Lan Yu returned in triumph...
Thinking about it, I haven't done anything like Lan Yu's deeds, so naturally I won't get the same fate.
"I'll give you a week to recuperate while writing many important reports on the Western Expedition over the years. Not only do I want to read it, but the Cabinet, the Military Aircraft Department and the Ministry of War also want to read it. As for the entertainment, I will save it for you first. Now, after you finish writing the report, it’s not too late to have a drink, don’t forget important things while drinking!”
Regarding the Western Expedition, Emperor Haojing only had a rough idea and used videos recording battlefield conditions to get some fragments of information.
Mandai's report can connect the timelines, so that the whole story can be connected to see if there is anything missing.
"Young disciples don't dare, I will obey my master's orders!"
For this report, Wanli had already prepared one before, and combined the memories and suggestions of Zhang Huangyan, Zeng Ying, Yang Zhan and others.
I improved it further on the way, and then I felt that I was well prepared, so I respected my master and gave myself a week to prepare again.
It means to say the key points that should be said, and either mention them in one sentence or not mention them at all.
After the "Western Expedition Report" has been reorganized and reviewed by the respected master, it can basically be shown to outsiders.
Before embarking on his return journey, Wanli's method of writing a report was also very simple, that is, asking each of his generals to submit a report.
Compare again and again by yourself, and finally select the rough and the fine. This is considered to be a complete success...
There are a lot of losers below who can do just fine in fighting, and when writing reports, they can squeeze out three sentences in two days.
Since the generals almost all came back with their arms in their arms, they brought home several ocean horses.
In addition to the happy family members on the day of pick-up, the following days were full of excitement.
The left-behind women, who were originally restrained and suspicious of each other, immediately united to deal with the Yangma.
Some cry, some hang themselves, and some plan to become a monk...
Emperor Haojing received the report from the factory guard and laughed it off.
I am very familiar with the many tricks of women.
The hundreds of women in the rear mansion couldn't make a fuss because their husbands were too smart and too cold-blooded. valley
Once the instigator is caught and the situation is verified, the culprit will have to bear the consequences.
Pay life for those who deserve life, pay for those who deserve compensation, keep those who deserve to be saved, and get out of here immediately!
Even if she gave birth to a son to Emperor Haojing and caused big trouble, both mother and son would be demoted to common people.
Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu at that time, was a lesson learned from the past, and his own grandfather Zhou Kui's family also met the same fate.
Even if there is a flesh-and-blood relationship with him, there is no exception. Those who seek death must pay the due price.
If you feel that being a concubine is uncomfortable, you can't let yourself go casually, and you regret it endlessly, there are ways to deal with it.
Emperor Haojing would directly cultivate someone and then take the initiative to find a successor for him.
There is no shortage of you in the back house. There are many people who want to come in, and there is almost a rush of people outside.
The beautiful mother plans to recruit ninety-nine new daughters-in-law at one time, and there are more than 100,000 people participating in the audition!
Emperor Haojing talked hard and reduced the number to sixty-six.
And we have to wait until the soldiers from the Western Expedition return in triumph, so that they can have a double happiness.
Rather than saying it is a double happiness, it is better to say that it will save money and avoid disaster, saving the old lady from talking about it all day long.
Since the king's army had won many victories in foreign campaigns and had almost never suffered a defeat, the people seemed to be very tolerant of Emperor Haojing's choice of concubine again.
There are only sixty-six people elected every ten years, so they are definitely not considered as faint kings.
Emperor Haojing wanted to take this opportunity to dispose of a batch of "old goods" to the soldiers, and then it would be convenient to import new goods from Minjian...
The soldiers returned in triumph and the emperor got married.
The former really wants to be victorious, the latter really doesn’t want to get married!
Since he couldn't escape, Emperor Haojing had no choice but to let himself be the groom again.
A certain fat prince was watching this scene with joy, but felt a little distressed when he handed out red envelopes to his sisters-in-law.
Since this year he was to receive a 10,000-ton ironclad ship and hold a ship review, Zheng Chenggong also came from the West to support him. Unexpectedly, it was just in time.
The standard of the red envelopes was the same as that of a certain fat house prince. Each red envelope was stuffed with a bankbook with a face value of 10,000 silver coins, and as much as 660,000 silver coins were given out at once.
To celebrate, it is well worth the money spent, not to mention that after taking the elixir, this is the price of the medicine after discount, and I only make a profit but not a loss.
Emperor Haojing looked at the three rows of brides and thought: Didn’t you ladies give in halfway?
Now raise your hand, I will immediately give each person 50,000 silver coins for travel expenses!
woman……
Hum!
Sure enough, all eyes are on money, they actually want to take a long-term view and make big money!
On the third day after the wedding, the newlyweds still wanted to become the emperor, but this small goal could not be achieved.
Emperor Haojing arrived in Tianjin by train, where he greeted French King Louis XIV who had traveled thousands of miles!
Also coming with him were Dutch Deacon William III, Swedish King Carl XI, and Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim.
King Suleiman of Persia, King Narai of Siam, Tokugawa Ietsuna of Japan, Kimchi Deacon Che Zaizhen, and the new Inca Emperor Polo had already arrived.
After receiving the invitation, many vassal kings from the Northland and Nanyang also rushed to the Beidu.
What they received was not only an invitation, but also the emperor's affirmation of themselves.
By the way, you can also go shopping for souvenirs in Beidu, which is a killing two birds with one stone.
If you feel you are afraid of being murdered, you don’t have to come. No one is asking you to come!
There is also a special guest, the Venetian head of state Justinian, whose specific title is Doge...
The Doge is the nominal head of state in Venice, and actual actions are handled by the Senate elected by the Grand Council.
None of this matters. What matters is that Venice has three aggressive neighbors.
The Ottoman Empire in the east, the Holy Roman Empire in the north, and the French Empire in the west!
Except for Rome in the south, which is easier to talk to, the heads of neighboring countries in the other three directions are not only hard to talk to, but they are also concerned about Venice's territory and wealth.
Justinian's visit this time was not so much a visit as a request for help.
Wanted to enlist the help of the Ming Emperor to ensure Venice's continued existence.
This is not alarmist, but a real geopolitical situation.
As long as two of these three join forces, Venice will probably be destroyed in less than a month...
Justinian did not dare to compare with the famous emperor of the same name in the Eastern Roman Empire in history.
We can only hope that such a tragic thing as the country being destroyed will not happen during his reign.
He wanted to see both the Ottomans and the Holy Roman Empire lose in a fight, but he didn't want France to reap the benefits.
However, after the Austrian army defeated Leopold's coalition forces under the walls of Vienna, France began to prepare for action again.
Louis XIV had acquired the northern part of the Apennine Peninsula, but still could not satisfy his terrible appetite.
If he waits longer for death, he may really be finished with Venice.
After getting the invitation, the trip to the East was inevitable.
After listening to Justinian's request, Emperor Haojing thought about it and made some calculations.
Before that, I would like to invite distinguished guests from far or short distances to take a look at the majestic appearance of the Ming Dynasty fleet.
On September 20th in the Western calendar, Emperor Haojing held the second-ever fleet review off the coast of Tianjin.
Participating in the ship review were eight Bismarcks, 16 Dingyuans, 22 Yoshinos, 24 Laiyuans, and 36 Zhiyuans.
This includes the four Bismarcks and four Dingyuan purchased by Zheng Zhilong, as well as some ironclad ships performing tasks in other waters and unable to return to participate in this ship review.
These one hundred and six iron-clad ships alone were shocking enough, especially the eight 10,000-ton iron-clad ships, which even made Louis XIV envious.
The French Navy only has three third-class ironclads, which account for less than one-seventh of the same type of ironclads in the Ming Empire Navy. It can be described as extremely shabby.
Although Louis XIV did not know the specific price of the fifth-class ironclad ship, based on the market price, the unit price of this type of warship was at least between 150 million and 200 million silver coins.
Even if you place an order now, you'll have to wait six to seven years to get it.
Louis XIV was younger than Emperor Hao Jing, so he naturally had enough time to wait.
But having no money to buy a ship is a key problem that cannot be solved...
